Workers at the threatened Muller Wiseman depot have hit out at company bosses.

Staff at the East Whitburn base say they found out about proposals to possibly close the base after reading about it on the internet, before being told by their employers.

Muller Wiseman announced on Wednesday that they were beginning a 45-day consultation period over the depot’s future – placing 116 jobs under threat. But staff have contacted The Courier to say many of them didn’t know anything about the possible closure until they saw the news on our Facebook page that afternoon.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said: “I am writing to let you know of my dismay at the recent news that Whitburn’s Muller Wiseman dairies is to possibly close. I am an employee at the mentioned depot, and I’m really worried as to what the future holds for myself and my family.

“No doubt this will be a major blow to all my colleagues, but the most annoying aspect of this scenario is the fact the staff found out through internet sites and news sites, before any information was relayed to us by our employer.

“I hope that pressure is put upon the company by the Scottish Government, but I’m realistic enough to know that Muller have no intention of keeping our jobs alive, as they have cut most resources since their takeover.”

Muller Wiseman say they will consult fully with staff and their union representatives at Usdaw before any decision is made.

But other workers at the plant say they are disillusioned with the way the firm are dealing with the issue. Another worker who contacted us said: “Nice to see they have their priorities right and tell you the same time as they tell staff.

“So workers’ families find out here before their workers can actually tell their families themselves.”

And one member of staff said the company hadn’t contacted her.

Speaking last week, she said: “I work in the office in Whitburn, I’m off till Monday, and get told by another member of staff and by seeing it on the news.”

However, Muller Wiseman defended their position and said they had done their best to contact staff.

A spokesman said: “We do regret that we were not able to let everyone at the depot know at the same time, however, the nature of the business is that we have drivers on shifts at different points of the day.

“Managers attempted to get in touch with as many people as they could if they were not on site at the time but we were not able to contact everyone in this way. We took steps to make sure that everyone was contacted during the course of the day but it is impossible to speak to everyone at the same time.”